China’s one child policy came into force in 1980 and restricted most families in China from having more than one child as a means of controlling the population.
The Chinese government’s justification for the policy lies in their assertion that it has prevented an additional 400 million births from occurring in the already overpopulated country of 1.3 billion people.
Local authorities pursue birth quotas set by Beijing by imposing abortions and sterilizations. The number of abortions has increased from less than 5 million abortions (before 1979) to 8.7 million (in 1981) – a year after the one-child policy was launched, peaking at 14.4 million (in 1983).
One recent imposed abortion flying around cyberspace is the case of Feng Jianmei. On June 2, Feng Jianmei, 27, was beaten by three Chinese officials, held down with a pillow over her head, and then injected with lethal chemicals to the belly to abort her unborn child. The dead baby was evacuated 2 days later after intense pain to the mother. Her baby was already seven months in utero.
